Chapter 259
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 259
The office worker, who had been a fan since the days when The Dawn only had four members, had been soaking in happiness every day lately.
“You seem to be in a great mood lately, Yumi? Must be nice having so much free time.”
“Hahaha, do I look that way?”
It wasn’t that her daily life was particularly blissful, but she was happy enough to let a shitty joke from a deputy in the neighboring department slide without getting angry, despite the guy’s habit of tossing out annoying questions.
“I’ve been working overtime for three weekends straight without a break, so I’m glad I look like I have free time.”
“……Sorry.”
There was only one reason her mood was so elevated.
The Dawn.
Yumi had been a K-pop fan for over ten years, ever since her school days, and had cycled through several different idols.
Then, a massive scandal broke out in the group she loved so much she believed they would be her final idols.
Four years had passed since she sat in a pub, chugging soju straight from the bottle, screaming at her fellow K-pop stanning friends that she would never stan an idol again.
Back then, she truly believed she had successfully quit K-pop and was living her life as a normal person.
Then one day, a friend asked her:
[Wanna go to a fan sign for some nugu flops from a tiny agency? You only need to buy a few copies to get in.]
[Lol wtf why would I go to that?
Anyway, what’s the group’s name?
└ Lol wait]
To be honest, it started half as a joke and half as a way to change her mood. Who would have thought she’d actually win after buying just a few albums without any expectations?
Especially since Yumi was notoriously unlucky, the type who wouldn't win even after buying over 100 albums.
As someone who had only ever stanned top-tier groups, she found the situation hard to understand and even a bit absurd.
‘Ah, the fan sign is tomorrow.’
Yumi was relaxed about the whole thing, planning to just throw on some clothes and pull a hat low over her head when the time came.
At the very least, she intended to look up The Dawn, watch their music videos, and check out a few performances before going.
“……What is this?”
However, after watching their Nutube videos, she fell into a state of shock.
“No, seriously, who are these guys?”
Their skills were actually quite good compared to their rock-bottom recognition.
Of course, compared to big agencies that poured in massive capital, everything was lacking. Plain outfits, uninspired hairstyles, choreography without a point, and songs that felt like they lacked impact.
But even within that, the members’ visuals and talents caught her eye.
In particular, Kim Seong-hyeon was exactly her type from head to toe.
[Wait, they’re actually pretty good on stage;; Are they really not popular?
└ Look at the fact that you won and tell me.
└└ Lol damn...ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ the truth hurts so much ㅠㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
But the more she struggled to find the few videos that had been uploaded, the more she couldn't believe The Dawn wasn't popular. She began scouring various portal sites and communities like a madwoman.
‘With this level of talent, they should be somewhat popular…?’
But finding a mention of them was like finding water in a desert.
Seeing how such promising kids could be buried like this made her realize all over again how important an agency was.
The night passed, and the day of the fan sign dawned.
[Lol guys, I’m heading out. It’s been so long I’m actually nervous.]
In the end, she had to leave the house without gathering much more information.
Aside from the friend who recommended the fan sign, even her veteran K-pop acquaintances only responded with question marks when she asked about The Dawn or Daepasung.
And so, she arrived at the fan sign with a mix of slight anxiety and a tiny bit of excitement.
“Ah, yes, yes! My name is Kim Seong-hyeon.”
“……!!”
Yumi was hit by a second wave of shock when she saw Kim Seong-hyeon, who was frozen stiff with nerves and speaking awkwardly.
“Please look after me……”
It was because he looked so much better in person.
She had seen many idols in her time, but Kim Seong-hyeon was by no means inferior to any of them.
He thanked her for coming to the fan sign, asked how she found out about The Dawn, expressed how grateful he was for her support, told her to make sure to eat every meal, and said they should definitely meet again in good health… Seeing the long, earnest comments Seong-hyeon had written in her album, she fell for him completely. As soon as she got home, she created a new Twitter account.
‘I’m only going to like them for a little bit….’
She told herself she was just riding the high of the fan sign….
Ignoring her friends who teased her for coming back to stan a "failed idol" group after all that crying about quitting K-pop, Yumi began working hard to promote them.
But there was absolutely no response.
Contrary to her claim that she would only like them for a short time, she was gradually being pulled deeper into The Dawn.
‘I’m only stanning them until they become 3rd-tier, seriously!’
About half a year had passed since that fan sign.
[The Dawn - Second Chance]
The news broke that Seo Ho-yun, a member who had left just before debut, was rejoining, and the concept photos for the new album were released.
The third shock came from the completely different atmosphere and quality.
They swept up the K-pop veterans and showed results that were incomparable to their debut album.
In that same pub where she had once wailed about quitting K-pop, Yumi cried again, drunk.
“Seong-hyeon! I love you!! Ah!! Thank you so, so much, Ho-yun!!”
“Hey, hey, she’s drunk.”
“Just drop her off by a utility pole and go.”
After that, while there were still things to be dissatisfied with and many clumsy moments, Daepasung changed rapidly as if they had suddenly awakened.
Self-produced content poured out, and their activities continued steadily.
Even when new fans cursed at the agency, to Yumi, who knew Daepasung’s previous track record, they looked like absolute saints.
And now, another year and a half later,
[Failed the fan sign draw.]
The Dawn had made it.
[Hey.. I bought so many this time, but I still failed the fan sign for the Deonging-is.
└ ㅠㅠ.. What are you going to do?
└└ I’m so moved...
└└ You crazy person..]
The cut-off for The Dawn’s fan signs rose day by day.
Yumi also began to fail the draws frequently. Even the rising sense of irritation was transformed into a feeling of deep moved emotion for her.
When the ‘Christmas Again?’ album was released in December, Yumi, determined to go this time, emptied her savings and finally managed to win a spot.
“Ah!!”
Arriving at the fan sign venue much earlier than scheduled, she felt a bit nervous. As she was reviewing how to make the most of her allotted time, word spread among the Noeuls that The Dawn had arrived.
Soon, the members made their appearance.
Kim Seong-hyeon’s handsomeness was as consistent as ever, but now he even radiated a celebrity aura.
The fan sign proceeded in an orderly fashion, and soon it was Yumi’s turn.
As the previous Noeul moved on, Seong-hyeon turned his head, spotted Yumi, and gave a brilliant smile, his eyes crinkling into half-moons.
“It’s really been so long!”
You brat, those are my words.
She had missed him so much, but with the fan sign cut-off rising so high combined with her notoriously bad luck, there had been no way.
But she didn't want to tell him all those details directly.
Even though she had woken up this morning with a mountain of things she wanted to say—even planning to tease him by saying she had switched her bias to Seo Ho-yun—seeing Kim Seong-hyeon looking just as happy to see her as she was to see him made her mind go blank with pure joy.
“I should sign here, right?”
Have you been eating well? Was it hard getting here? What have you been up to?
She wanted to hear more of Seong-hyeon’s stories, but instead, he showered her with questions about herself. Of course, she loved that too, as it felt like an expression of his interest.
As their short meeting came to an end and it was time for Yumi to move to the next seat, Seong-hyeon hurriedly caught her attention.
“I’m not very good with words… but I’ve really wanted to tell you this for a long time. Thank you so much for continuing to like us.”
She didn't remember much of how she finished the fan sign and got home after that.
All she had was the album in her arms, where Seong-hyeon had written, ‘You have been a huge source of strength for me. I hope you know how much you mean to me. And I missed you!!’ along with the signatures of the other members.
[Haa.......... what do I do? I’m so happy right now..
When did our little water dumpling write such an earnest comment while we were talking.. I love that he still has that awkward vibe..]
At this point, Yumi felt like she could endure anything as a Noeul.
[Yumi, when are you quitting K-pop?
You said you’d do it when they hit 3rd-tier.
The Dawn is 2nd-tier now, though.]
[I’m stanning until The Dawn hits 1st-tier.]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅅㅂ the standards just keep getting higherㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Yumi’s probably gonna say she’ll stan until they win a Grammy once they hit 1st-tier.
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Ah, shit ㅋㅋㅋ that’s so funny ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Even when her friends teased her with affection, she had no time to snap back. She was too busy making GIFs of The Dawn.
From various variety shows to the collaboration with IRIX.
Since the end of last year, The Dawn’s activities had been a whirlwind.
In particular, when Kim Seong-hyeon appeared on a motorcycle for the ‘Connected’ stage at the RIX Cup and took off his helmet to reveal his face, tears had welled up in her eyes before she knew it.
[Proof of my tears.
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ This is crazy ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Why is it so fun watching Yumi’s chaotic K-pop diary from the sidelines?
It feels like I’m watching someone raise a Tamagotchi.]
From that day on, Yumi felt like she had entered ‘Noeul Phase 2.’
She rewatched ‘Connected’ fancams from every angle and found herself wandering in and out of various online communities.
The posts were filled with nothing but praise.
[Using hand mics was seriously a stroke of genius. (Likes: 5,412)]
While the behind-the-scenes recording of ‘Connected’ on The Dawn’s official Nutube channel, the work review with The Dawn uploaded by IRIX, and the RIX Cup rehearsal video were being posted one after another, The Dawn’s Nutube subscriber count and official SNS followers skyrocketed.
[I’m so proud to be a Noeul. No one in the world can deny that they are geniuses. (Smiling emoji)]
[I’m smiling too after seeing Seong-hyeon smile at the end. He’s such a sexy man, but off-stage he’s always a gentle soul who gets picked on by Ho-yun. (Laughing-crying emoji)]
Most of them were international fans.
Eventually, ‘Connected’ climbed the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart and entered the domestic real-time charts, albeit at a lower rank.
[Subject: Who do you think is the most successful in the 2nd-tier??
Personally, I think The Dawn.
Before Shas last year, High Five had the upper hand, but The Dawn’s self-produced content and songs this time are so good, they’re really killing it.
In the past, it was a shame they were mostly just for the hardcore fans, but lately, they’ve been active on variety shows and their public recognition has gone up a lot.
└ I say High Five ㅋㅋ still can’t compare to a big agency.
└ Eh, I obviously thought it was The Dawn ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Even the RIX Cup song, A:STAR was originally supposed to do it, but The Dawn did it instead.
└└ Ah shit, let’s just ignore this. Don’t start a fight over rumors.
└ A:STAR has been on a bit of a decline lately. Feels like their image is used up. The Dawn is definitely rising.
Can’t they reach 1.5-tier next year?
└└ 1.5-tier my ass. Yeah, keep dreaming in your tiny agency.
└ What’s the point of posting stuff like this? It’s bad for The Dawn and bad for High Five ㅋㅋ
└ It’s obviously to start a fight ㅋㅋㅋㅋ ugh ㅗㅗ]
Yumi was happy enough to just scroll past these kinds of bait posts.
‘They’re really getting popular….’
Just as she was about to close the browser window with a satisfied heart,
[Subject: Didn’t Kim Seong-hyeon get plastic surgery?]
“What the fuck?!”
The title of a community post instantly shattered her peace.
She had been watching him since the ‘Glow’ era, and while his hair, makeup, and styling had changed, he hadn't touched a single thing on his face. What kind of bullshit was this?
Clutching her heart, which was thumping with rage, she clicked on the post.
[Subject: There have been posts about Kim Seong-hyeon’s surgery for a long time ㅋㅋ
He looks so different from his elementary school graduation photo ㅠ
Young_Seong-hyeon.jpg
RIX_Cup_Seong-hyeon.jpg
Right?]
In the photo, the young Kim Seong-hyeon had chubby cheeks and a round, small face, wearing thick, high-prescription glasses.
Compared to the sleek image of Seong-hyeon at the RIX Cup, there certainly seemed to be a big difference, but he was adorable.
“You’re joking, right?”
[Hmm? ㅠㅠㅠ He does look a bit different ㅠㅠ]
[At least his eyes, definitely. ㅇㅇ]
“You wanna die?!”
The comments seemed to be taking it quite seriously.
Yumi quickly posted a childhood photo of Kim Seong-hyeon on her high-follower Twitter account, showing his features were exactly the same.
But even after a few days, the controversy didn't die down.
Just as Yumi’s anger was reaching its peak, a live broadcast notification popped up.
[[It-chae <3] Let’s play together]
She hurried in to see Kim Seong-hyeon, Kang Yi-chae, and the maknae Jeong Da-jun appearing with their dorm as the background.
【Hyung, what is this photo?】
On the screen, Jeong Da-jun was busy laughing while shoving a photo in Kim Seong-hyeon’s face. It was the elementary school graduation photo that was currently at the center of the controversy. Kang Yi-chae was also doubled over with laughter.
Then, Kim Seong-hyeon suddenly stood up and disappeared off-camera, returning a moment later holding something.
【Since Kang Yi-chae and Jeong Da-jun are teasing me so much, I’m going to do the live wearing these.】
They were the glasses he used to wear in elementary school.
As he put on the glasses he said he still kept, Kim Seong-hyeon’s face transformed completely.
She used to think the manga trope where someone becomes a beauty just by taking off their glasses was ridiculous, but to think it could actually happen in reality.
Kang Yi-chae even held up the graduation photo next to Seong-hyeon in his glasses for a side-by-side comparison.
Seong-hyeon explained that his eyesight was so bad it was uncomfortable for dancing, so he got LASIK as soon as he became an adult.
The giggling Da-jun even took the glasses off Seong-hyeon’s face and tried them on himself.
Just then, the sound of the dorm door opening was heard, and Seong Ji-won and Seo Ho-yun appeared.
After a brief explanation and a suggestion to try the glasses on, Seo Ho-yun flatly refused.
Instead, he joined in on teasing Seong-hyeon.
“It seems like Seong-hyeon relies on Ho-yun a lot….”
Feeling proud at the sight of The Dawn’s close bond, Yumi immediately made a GIF of Seong-hyeon’s face transitioning between wearing and not wearing the glasses as soon as the live ended. She posted it on SNS with the caption: ‘Is this the shoujo manga cliché where you get handsome just by taking off your glasses?’
Then she logged into her private account, where people were buzzing.
《Ju Woo-seong requests Seo Ho-yun’s impromptu casting for ‘Racing Me’… Extreme chemistry expected》
[Ju-seong.. do you really have no friends?
I thought he was trying to make things work with his own group somehow.]
[If Woo-seong is happy, I’m okay with it.]
After checking the article link, Yumi typed out a comment on Twitter without much of a reaction.
[I’m just grateful for the fact that Seong-hyeon’s elementary school graduation photo was posted….]
It was a response typical of a Noeul who strictly moved at her own pace.